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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27744688">A surprise before Christmas</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merlins_little_sister/pseuds/Merlins_little_sister'>Merlins_little_sister</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Merlin (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Baking, Best Friends, Caring Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Caring Merlin (Merlin), Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Established Relationship, F/F, First Apartment, Fluff, Gwen and Merlin are best friends, Idiots in Love, Kissing, Living Together, M/M, Mentions of Sex, Merthur - Freeform, Merthur Christmas Fluff, Modern Era, Morgwen - Freeform, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, no native speaker of English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:54:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,064</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27744688</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merlins_little_sister/pseuds/Merlins_little_sister</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's their first Christmas in their new apartment, and they are cherishing every single moment.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gwen/Morgana (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Merlin Holidays 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A surprise before Christmas</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/moondustings/gifts">moondustings</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This story is my contribution to the Merlin Holidays 2020, and was written for moondustings. - I hope you like your gift. The story has it's focus on Merthur, but Morgwen is part of it as well. </p><p>Thanks to the wonderful ursus-mari for being my beta! Check them out <a href="https://ursus-mari.tumblr.com/">here!</a></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was almost December, which meant that Christmas was fast approaching. This year was probably the first year in a very long time that Arthur was truly excited about the prospect of celebrating Christmas. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Arthur was a child, he had mostly been excited about the presents under the tree on Christmas morning. So naturally, he had anticipated the gifts all December long but never Christmas Time as such. It just hadn't been anything special in the Pendragon household. There was no baking with your family (the nanny usually made the cookies when Arthur and Morgana were at school), there was no decorating the tree together (his father usually paid people to bring and decorate a tree), and there was certainly no singing of Christmas carols. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, Arthur's perspective had changed when he grew up, moved out, and started a life of his own.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Merlin, on the other hand, had always loved Christmas. Growing up in a tiny little house in the countryside together with his mom and best friend Will, the Christmas season had always been special for him. His mother, Hunith, loved baking, cooking, decorating, and singing, and she had gifted all of these passions to her son. Because money had always been short, Christmas naturally became a feast of love and kindness. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This year's celebrations, however, would be different for both men. 2020 would be the first year that Arthur and Merlin celebrated Christmas together in their very own home. 3 years into their relationship, the couple had finally decided to take the next step and move in with each other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Merlin and Arthur planned to cherish every single moment of Christmas in their new home. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While Arthur was able to contain his excitement pretty well, Merlin was practically bouncing with anticipation. For the last couple of weeks, he had been running around making plans. And nothing, absolutely nothing, made Merlin happier than seeing joy and happiness on Arthur's face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur thought it was utterly adorable how much Merlin cared for him, so he started to make plans as well. In secret, of course. Christmas was about surprises, after all. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <b>25th of November </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After Merlin had left early for his shift at the pharmacy, Arthur pulled out the supplies for Merlin's Christmas calendar from the box under his side of the bed. He had all the things he needed ready in that box and would assemble the pieces today. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur grabbed the 25 brown paper bags and carefully wrote the respective numbers on the bags. Then he lined up the bags on the floor and evenly distributed chocolate, candy, tea, and some bath salts over them. Being a perfectionist, he switched around the order of the items for a little until he was perfectly satisfied with the result. Arthur nodded approvingly and closed all the bags with a red ribbon before he tucked them away under the bed again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The couple had promised each other that they would keep things small, as they had every year. A Christmas calendar with a nice and small item each day was worth much more than a super expensive one from the store. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur liked doing these small things for Merlin. Things that made his eyes smile along with his lips, such as bringing his boyfriend a cup of tea so that he didn't have to get up. Things like that were Arthur's love language. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <b>30th of November </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Arthur came home from work in the early afternoon, he found Merlin in the living room between a bunch of boxes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey," he smiled at his boyfriend, "what are you doing? Isn't this too early for Christmas decorations?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No, clotpole," Merlin looked up, frowning at Arthur, "it's never too early for decoration. Besides, I have a long shift tomorrow and wanna get this done before, so we can enjoy the evening together."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur smiled softly. Merlin's determination never failed to amaze him, and even after 3 years together, it still surprised him how much Merlin could lose himself in all sorts of stuff. He slowly walked over to his boyfriend, and carefully kneeled in front of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Merlin," he spoke with a soft voice, lifting Merlin's face with his finger. "I don't need all of this, and you know that. You can put it up if it's important to you, but don't do it because you think it makes Christmas perfect for me or something. Ok?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Merlin locked eyes with his boyfriend and made a face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You know, you could have told me that before I got all the boxes down from the storage," he said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's ok, you can put them back there," Arthur replied. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Sometimes you can be a huge prat, you know that?" Merlin leaned in to kiss him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"So you keep saying," Arthur answered, before standing up. "How about this, you decorate with a few nice pieces that don't sing and put the boxes back while I make us dinner."</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <b>December 3rd</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was one of these especially-lazy Sundays. The couple was curled up on the sofa, where they had done not much more than cuddling, reading, kissing, and eating all day. Neither of them planned on changing this any time soon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From time to time, one of them would get up to make some fresh tea or coffee, or just to change positions. Currently, Merlin was half sitting, half lying between Arthur's legs. His head rested on Arthur's chest and Arthur could smell the soft citrus scent of Merlin's shampoo in his hair.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur paused the audiobook he was listening to and placed his headphones on the nearby table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Merlin?" he asked softly while he ran his hand up and down Merlin's upper arm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hmmm?" Merlin mumbled, looking up from the book he was reading. "What is it?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Do you want to have a massage?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Being in a relationship with a sports physiotherapist had many advantages, and free massages were probably the biggest one of them. Arthur's hands were skilled, and sometimes Merlin was jealous that he had to share them with a bunch of muscular athletes. But of course, it was just a job like any other, and Arthur was a professional. Many times he had assured Merlin that the full skill of his hands was reserved to him, and him alone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Merlin nodded, a smile plastered to his face. He tossed aside the book that he had been reading and began to undress the upper part of his body while Arthur grabbed some oil from the nearby shelf. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur gestured to the rug on the floor in front of the fireplace and Merlin lay down on his stomach. He rested his head on his arms and Arthur sat down on his butt. Normally, he would kneel next to the person who was receiving a massage, but Merlin wasn't any of his patients, so this wasn't a normal massage. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Merlin hummed approval when Arthur had settled down and started rubbing the skin on Merlin's shoulders with easy motions. Slowly, he worked his way down on Merlin's back until he reached the hem of his jeans. Arthur left his hands there and leaned forward to place gentle kisses on his lover's skin. He could feel Merlin stir underneath him and gave him room to turn around. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That was very nice," Merlin said. His voice was low and he sounded completely relaxed. "Thank you."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Merlin felt the warmth of Arthur's body on his skin. In the light of the fire, his cheekbones showed off even stronger than usual, just like his own, probably. Gently, he reached up to pull the other man in for a long kiss. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <b>December 10th</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur woke up when Merlin barged into their bedroom. He growled a bit and closed his eyes again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Rise and shine!" Merlin announced and opened the curtains. Reluctantly, Arthur opened his eyes again and glanced at his boyfriend. Somehow, Merlin was fully dressed and didn't look the tiniest bit tired. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Let's have you, lazy daisy!" Merlin said and hopped onto the bed. Much to Arthur's dislike, however, he didn't slide under the covers to him but placed a gentle kiss on Arthur's forehead instead. Then he took the blanket and left the bed before Arthur could comprehend what had happened. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur growled again, louder this time before he sat up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Get your lazy backside out of the bed, Arthur," Merlin demanded. He didn't even look the slightest bit sorry. "Gwen and Morgana will be here in 20 minutes. Do you wanna make cookies in your underwear?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Remind me again why we need to bake cookies at 10 am on a Sunday?" Arthur answered, but he got out of bed nonetheless. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Because," Merlin said while opening the windows to let some air in, "we want to eat them in the afternoon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"How many cookies do you wanna make?" Arthur grumbled. The air that was coming in from the open windows was ice-cold, and he shivered a little. They'd probably get snow soon, Arthur expected. Maybe even a white Christmas, if they were lucky. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>20 minutes should be enough to take a shower and warm up a little, he thought. He tried to pull Merlin in for a quick kiss before he went to the bathroom, but Merlin was already busy again. Arthur smiled at the sight of this. Somehow, things like tidying up a room or cleaning came more easily to Merlin than they did to himself. Most of the time, Merlin didn’t even seem to notice he was doing it, like now. While Arthur had to force himself to do housework and actively consider what he was doing, Merlin just did it, and he didn’t seem to mind. Time and time again, Arthur had felt bad about that. He wanted to take tasks from him, to help him. He wanted to be useful. And time and time again, Merlin had assured him that he was. Arthur did other things. He cared in other ways. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the doorbell rang, Arthur was completely dressed and had even managed to drink a quick coffee. Gwen and Morgana were punctual as ever. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Merlin opened the door, while Arthur leaned against the wall behind him. While Morgana looked happy and content (much like Arthur), Gwen looked like a child on Christmas morning, buzzing with excitement (much like Merlin). As always, Gwen hugged both men tightly, before she grabbed Merlin’s arm, and they disappeared into the kitchen, giggling like children. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur and Morgana didn’t hug. They almost never did. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s join them in the kitchen, shall we?” Morgana announced, pinching Arthur in the waist. “I wanna see if you still are as much of a fool in the kitchen as last year.” She smirked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Three hours later, all 4 of them were covered in flour, every single surface in the kitchen was filled with boxes of cookies and baking utensils, and Arthur was pleasantly tired. Truth be told, Morgana and Arthur had probably done the least amount of work, which wasn’t that much of a surprise, really. Gwen and Merlin were a team, and they didn’t need their help, which didn’t mean that they didn’t want it. Morgana and Arthur had noticed quickly that their partners were much more skilled when it came to baking, so they had busied themselves with simple tasks like making tea for everyone, picking out music, or cutting cookies and left the more complicated things to Merlin and Gwen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before Arthur and Merlin had moved in with each other, Gwen and Merlin had been roommates. They had known each other for years and were best friends, too. When Arthur and Merlin had started dating and things had gotten more serious, Gwen had eventually met Arthur’s sister Morgana. Quickly, the two women had fallen for each other and soon enough they started dating as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rest of the Sunday passed with them chatting, singing Christmas carols, and playing board games. Once again, Arthur was thankful for his friends - his family. Once again, Arthur was thankful for Merlin. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <b>December 15th</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The week passed in a blur. Work had been busy for both of them, but they still managed to enjoy every free minute with each other. On Friday afternoon, when they both were home already, the mailman came and brought a package from Merlin’s mother. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wonder what she sent us,” Merlin said, half falling over his own feet when he ran to the kitchen in search of scissors to cut open the packaging. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Try not to hurt yourself, would you?” Arthur laughed. He leaned back in his chair and gave Merlin some space to examine what his mother had sent them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s tea,” Merlin said. Then his face lit up. “Tea, and candles, and chocolate, and cocoa, and cookies, and scarfs for both of us, -”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good lord,” Arthur laughed again, “the woman thinks we’re starving.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s true, you are clearly not starving,” Merlin said, pointedly looking at Arthur's belly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you saying that I am fat?” Arthur asked, a little outraged. “I’m fighting fit.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You won’t be for much longer when you eat all of this,” Merlin mocked him further. He came over to sit in Arthur’s lab and poked his belly. “I like your padding, it’s good for cuddling.” Merlin leaned in to give Arthur a kiss. The kiss turned into snogging and soon enough, Arthur carried Merlin to their bedroom. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A while later, when Arthur had proven that he was indeed fighting fit, both men settled down on the sofa under a blanket. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You are getting really good at making hot cocoa," Merlin said, carefully sipping from the steaming mug that Arthur had prepared for him. The foam of the whipped cream had left Merlin with a white dot on his nose. Arthur watched his boyfriend for a minute in silence, not realizing that he should have answered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Thanks," he hummed belatedly. Then he leaned in to kiss the foam away from Merlin's nose. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His thoughts wandered away to the item that was hidden in the box under his bed, together with Merlin's present. Soon, he thought, and a content smile spread on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <b>December 20th</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Merlin's face was red from the cold wind already. He looked as if he had been outside for hours, but Arthur knew it couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes. Merlin had come to pick Arthur up from work because his shift had ended about 30 minutes before Arthur had completed his duties for today. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pavement was white with a light layer of fresh snow. Both of them had been surprised to see that the snow had actually stayed for longer than a couple of hours. Normally, there was no long-lasting snow until January in this part of the country. Arthur distantly remembered white Christmases from his childhood, once, maybe twice, but hardly more. Usually, the snow that came down in December melted fairly quickly, leaving the city wet and muddy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That's why they had scheduled a date in the park for the evening, after they were done with work. Merlin's original plan for this day had been to pay the Christmas Market one last visit before it shut down, but a romantic walk through the snow seemed much more appealing to both of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur kissed Merlin's cold nose and embraced the shivering man in a tight hug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Where is your hat, you idiot? Do you want to freeze?" he asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Lost it somewhere. I was hoping I could borrow your spare one?" He glanced at Arthur. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You would lose your head if it wasn't attached to the rest of you," Arthur grumbled. He rummaged through his backpack until he found the spare hat he always kept there together with some tissues and a pack of patches. Merlin was the most clumsy person in the universe, and Arthur liked to be prepared for every situation. That was a hint he had gotten from Hunith when it became obvious that Arthur would be a constant in her son’s life. Arthur was very thankful for it, and he needed his emergency supplies much more than he liked. The problem wasn’t that Merlin wasn’t capable of caring for himself, he definitely was. As a person who worked in a pharmacy, he was more than capable, actually. Especially in health concerns. The problem was rather that Merlin constantly prioritized the wellbeing of other people before his own. Arthur quickly found the hat and handed it to Merlin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Thank you." Merlin rewarded him with one of his bright smiles that stretched from ear to ear. Then he grabbed Arthur's hand and pulled him down the road into the general direction of the park. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they entered the park, the ambience shifted to winter-wonderland. The trees to the left and right of the path were covered under a light layer of snow. Arthur enlaced his fingers a little more with Merlin’s as they slowly walked down through the park, silently taking in the beauty of the moment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For every step taken, they could hear the soft crunching of the snow beneath their feet. When they passed the playground, the sound mingled with the cheerful laughter of children. Arthur glanced over to Merlin and found him already staring. Truly, he thought, this was the best feeling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I love - “ Merlin whispered, interrupting himself to grin widely, “- waffles. They sell some over there.” He pointed to a tiny little hut on the other side of the meadow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur suppressed the urge to stick his tongue out at Merlin. “I bet you won’t manage to get there faster than me!” he replied and started running towards the hut. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Merlin didn’t beat him, of course not. He didn’t even stand a chance, but it was fun. When they arrived at the hut, their faces were red, and they were laughing loudly. They purchased some coffee and waffles, and then strolled back the way they came. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And there, in the snowy park, Arthur knew that he would love Merlin forever. Nothing felt as right as being with Merlin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Merlin, who loved books, and cooking and singing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Merlin, who couldn’t eat a waffle without smearing whipped cream all over his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Merlin, who tripped over his own feet more often than not. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Merlin, whose heart was bigger than anyone else’s heart. Whom he could tell everything, without the fear of being judged. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And Arthur simply knew that their love was forever. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I love you,” he blurted. His cheeks were flushed, and although they had been together for so long, and although he had said it many times before, and although he knew the answer, he felt his heart pounding in his chest. It was just as strong as it had been on the first day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And I love you,” Merlin answered. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <b>December 24th</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was the 24th of December, one day til Christmas day. Merlin and Arthur had made no special plans for today, so they slept until 10am. There were plenty of leftover cookies from the recent baking session with Gwen and Morgana to get them through the day (or the rest of the month).  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur’s thoughts wandered back to the things they had done over the course of December. They had made plenty of cookies, enough to feed an entire army. They had been to the Christmas Market with friends a couple of times, which was nice, but a little too crowded for Merlin’s taste. They had bought and decorated a Christmas tree together, which was a memory that both men would cherish for years to come. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The tree was large, little too large almost. It filled out the entire corner next to the fireplace and partially covered one of their bookshelves. Merlin had crawled underneath the tree once or twice already to retrieve a special book, which had resulted in several misplaced Christmas ornaments and a lot of cursing on Merlin’s side. Most of the ornaments they’d  hung up were from Hunith. She had “way too many anyway” and had insisted that Merlin took them, now that he had “settled down.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur’s favorite moments, however, were the days or evenings that they had spent under their blanket on the sofa. Sometimes, Merlin had read to Arthur, other times they had read books of their own, listened to music, or watched Netflix. Arthur had perfected his skills in preparing tea and hot cocoa, and even earned himself a back-slapping from his sister.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Right now was one of these moments. It was late afternoon already. Earlier today, they had taken a bath together (which may or may not have resulted in very passionate sex and the need to take another shower). Now, they were curled up on the sofa, wearing comfy pants and hoodies, and enjoyed a light-hearted show. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the episode was over, Arthur sat up and turned off the TV.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have something for you,” he said to Merlin. His voice was lower than usual and Merlin could hear that he was nervous, even though he didn’t know why. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? But it’s not yet Christmas,” Merlin answered, obviously confused. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know, idiot,” Arthur huffed. “That’s why I am giving it to you today. But if you don’t want it…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, no,” Merlin answered quickly. “I want it, please!” He looked at his boyfriend, his gaze showed a mixture of confusion and excitement. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All right,” Arthur nodded firmly. “Stay here,” he pointed to the sofa, before leaving the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Arthur came back a couple of minutes later, he was holding a plate with an éclair on it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Awww, Arthur. You got me an éclair? That's so sweet. I love them," he said, genuinely happy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I know, but don't eat it right away. Read it first," Arthur answered before he handed the plate to Merlin, who had stood up from the sofa in an effort to get his éclair more quickly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Read it? Arthur, what are you—" Merlin interrupted when he saw the white chocolate letters on the éclair. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "Open me?" He looked to Arthur for confirmation, and found that Arthur, who was nervously biting his lower lip, nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Merlin balanced the plate on his left hand and carefully lifted the top of the eclair up to find a little package underneath, which was wrapped in foil to protect it from the cream inside the éclair. Merlin placed the plate on the nearby table and started unwrapping the little package. After what felt like 100 layers of foil, a little white satin bag was revealed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Arthur, what—" Merlin stuttered. He tried to open the little bag, but his hands were suddenly shaking. Arthur gently took the bag from him, opened it and then dropped to one knee, holding two silver rings in his hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Merlin's eyes widened as the realization about what Arthur was about to do dawned him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Merlin Emrys," Arthur declared firmly. Merlin could hear the slight trembling in his voice, and he watched, frozen to his position, as Arthur continued. "I love you more than you could possibly imagine. I hope you know that I would do anything for you, anything. You have turned my world upside down and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Merlin. Will you marry me?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh my God, Arthur," Merlin said. Only now he realized that he was crying. "Yes, yes, with all my heart. I will marry you." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur exhaled audibly, then he stood up and gently placed one of the two rings on Merlin's palm, keeping the other one to himself. Merlin looked at the ring more closely before slipping it on and noticed the tiny little sword on the inside of the ring. It fit perfectly. And just like this, Merlin had gotten the biggest surprise one day before Christmas. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Merlin told his mother about the engagement on the phone, she cried happy tears for a solid five minutes. Then she announced, she had known all the time that they belonged together, and that she had been right about giving them the Christmas ornaments, too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gwen screamed and jumped around in their living room when Merlin showed her the ring. Later she announced, she would be their wedding planner, and she had the perfect idea already. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And Morgana, well. Morgana hugged Arthur tighter and longer than she ever had before. Arthur assumed that she wanted to hide her tears from him, but he didn't say anything. He was happy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everything was good. </span>
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